Tottenham Hotspur are still looking to add a new forward to Roberto De Zerbi’s squad ahead of the Italian coach’s first full season in charge.

This has been arguably the busiest summer in the club’s history and six signings have been made thus far for a staggering £237 million. De Zerbi’s midfield has been sorted out following the arrivals of Sandro Tonali from Newcastle United for £100 million and Mateus Fernandes from West Ham United for £85 million.

Spurs were interested in Bournemouth striker Junior Kroupi, but the French youngster’s pre-season injury means they are reportedly shelving a pursuit until next year. That hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a new centre-forward arriving in North London, with question marks over Dominic Solanke and Richarlison.

Mateta Is The Answer For Tottenham

via Reuters

Tottenham could and should turn to Crystal Palace frontman Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has just a year remaining on his contract. The Frenchman has shown throughout his time with the Eagles that he can be relied upon to lead the line effectively.

Mateta has become a hero at Selhurst Park after scoring the winner in the Eagles’ UEFA Conference League final win over Rayo Vallecano. He made amends with fans after pushing to leave the club in January before failing a medical with AC Milan ahead of a proposed £35 million switch.

While the 29-year-old is back on good terms with the South Londoners’ supporters, there’s no indication that he’ll be extending his contract. This could pave the way for Spurs to make a move for the experienced forward and potentially allow them to plot a move for Kroupi further down the line.

Stats courtesy of StatMuse – correct as of 10/08/2026

Mateta joined Palace from Bundesliga outfit Mainz in January 2022 and, after a slow start, has become a talisman for the Eagles. He is a popular figure at Selhurst Park due to his bubbly personality, which could be a good fit for this Spurs side.

A Short-Term Fix Well Worth Making

While the prospect of signing a young, exciting talent like Kroupi had been appealing, Spurs need a reliable goalscorer who can come straight into De Zerbi’s team and make an impact. Mateta is the ideal solution given his Premier League experience and consistency in front of goal.

Mateta has become one of the most highly-regarded strikers in English football and earned huge praise from Wayne Rooney a year ago. The Manchester United legend was surprised at the lack of interest when speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live:

Manchester United were linked with Mateta earlier this summer but haven’t made a concrete move for the Palace star. There were suggestions that Steve Parish and his board could sanction a transfer for just £25 million.

If Mateta is available for that price, it would make sense for Spurs to be circling for his signature, as it would not only allow them to strengthen their frontline before planning for Kroupi next year. They can also continue to pursue deals for Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo and Manchester City’s Savinho.

Tottenham transfer targets

Spurs kick their season off against Brentford on August 22nd, and while De Zerbi has undoubtedly improved his squad, a new number nine feels the missing piece of the puzzle. Mateta might be a short-term fix, but one that can fire the Lilywhites back to Europe.

Ahead of the new Premier League season, there will be plenty of narratives for Arsenal to contend with. The primary one will focus on how well they can defend their title, but one player may have to deal with diving allegations.

That is at least the feelings of former PGMOL chief and ex-FIFA referee, Keith Hackett. The retired referee has singled out one star in Mikel Arteta’s current group as a possible issue for officials to deal with in 2026/27.

The man in question is Viktor Gyokeres, who scored 21 times in total for the Gunners last term, leading the line as the north London outfit finally got their hands on the Premier League title after a 22-year wait. Despite that, his performances left many unconvinced, and Hackett has forecast more difficulties ahead for the Swede.

Mikel Arteta Told To ‘Have a Word’ With Arsenal ‘Diver’

In Arsenal’s latest pre-season friendly, Gyokeres started as the Gunners were beaten 3-2 by Borussia Dortmund at home in the Emirates Cup. The 28-year-old had a mixed outing, scoring from the penalty spot, but also missing a few other openings as he looked to build his match sharpness.

One moment in particular sparked a strong reaction from ex-PGMOL boss Hackett.

In the 40th minute, new signing Christos Tzolis clipped a clever ball down the channel for Gyokeres to run onto. It looked as though the centre-forward was in a good position to get a shot away, but instead threw himself to the floor under pressure from Joane Gadou.

The plea for a penalty was waved away by the referee, with Gyokeres left frustrated. Speaking to Football Insider, Hackett couldn’t understand why the Arsenal star went down. He then claimed that referees have now ‘clocked’ his poor diving skills, noting

Arsenal will begin the 2026/27 season with the curtain-raiser Community Shield match against Manchester City on 16 Augst. Although many view that game much like a glorified friendly, Gyokeres has insisted it means a lot to the players.

After the Dortmund game, when asked how seriously he will be taking it, he looked perplexed by the question, firing back: “I don’t know what other people think, but of course we want to win that game for sure. There is no question about that.”

After that, the Gunners kick off their title defence with their Premier League opener at the Emirates. against newly-promoted Coventry City on 21 August.

Tottenham are now being linked with a move for Villarreal striker Georges Mikautadze as Roberto De Zerbi turns his attention to his attacking line. Spurs have already amassed a record spend this summer, racking up a bill of more than £230million, and particular attention has been paid to the defence and midfield.

The likes of Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes have been snapped up, and Spurs will now concentrate on adding competition out wide, and potentially up top. De Zerbi looks to be prioritising a winger signing, while a striker signing could depend on one of Richarlison or Dominic Solanke moving on. Mikautadze has emerged as an option, and here we get you up to speed on the LaLiga frontman.

Georges Mikautadze’s career so far

Mikautadze is a Georgian international, but he was born to Georgian parents in France, and he started his career with FC Gerland, but he was quickly snatched up by Olympique Lyon. We will see Lyon again in this story, but Mikautadze actually went on to make his breakthrough to first-team football with Metz, initially graduating to Metz B and going to become a first-teamer in 2019. He scored 25 goals in 42 league games for Metz, quickly gaining a reputation as a goalscorer as a youngster, but a frustrating move to Ajax followed. Mikautadze joined for €19million and only made five league appearances, but he hadn’t lost his scoring touch, scoring 13 in 20 league games during a loan spell back at Metz, and after Metz took up an option to buy, Lyon signed him almost immediately, paying around €23million plus agreeing a 15% sell-on fee.

Mikautadze had a superb Euro 2024 campaign, finishing as joint-top scorer of the tournament, and he went on to score 12 times in 36 league appearances for Lyon.

That’s when Villarreal came forward, agreeing a deal worth up to €36million, and in his first season with the Yellow Submarine, he had an almost identical scoring record, netting 13 times in 32 league games.

The inside view on Mikautadze

For context, I’m a Villarreal fan, based just down the road in Valencia, and I’ve followed the club for over 15 years. I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen plenty of Mikautadze. The striker has incredible technical talent, and he is able to produce some of the most satisfying finishes you are likely to see. With both feet, too.

He loves to chip the goalkeeper whenever it’s on, and he produces superbly-placed precision finishes from inside or outside of the box. Mikautadze is one of those players who just has that something special, that something unique in the way he controls and plays the ball. It makes him hard to defend and a nightmare for goalkeepers. The Georgian international has pace aplenty, and he will win most races in behind, while he also has the tricky with the ball at his feet to face up a man and beat him.

“Intelligent, mobile, instinctive and has excellent finishing with both feet.” – Former Villarreal boss Marcelino

Those are the positives. As for the drawbacks, as a smaller forward, there are times when he has gone missing in games, particularly games with a more direct style, and now former Villarreal boss Marcelino worked with him last season to make sure he can find ways to get into games. But there was progress on that front, with Marcelino saying in February: “He’s much more involved. He has better coordination with his teammates and now he’s fluid, he’s agile of mind, he’s happy.”

There is more to come from Mikautadze, who is still only 25 and adjusting to LaLiga, and if he stays, it will be interesting to see how he adapts to playing under new boss Iñigo Pérez, who has a very different style of play to that of Marcelino’s. Equally, if Tottenham do sign him, it will be interesting to see if Mikautadze can maintain his goalscorer reputation in the Premier League.

At this stage, it remains unclear what Mikautadze’s release clause it, but you can expect Villarreal to demand around £50million or move. The Yellow Submarine have said they will sell a player this summer, as is usually the way, but they do not want to sell their star striker, especially with Ayoze Perez and Gerard Moreno not getting any younger.